Category: live music

Several members of the Listen team have spent the past week in Amsterdam gearing up for an ambitious addition to our Music x Technology program with Microsoft. We’re beyond excited to launch Bloom: Open Space with Brian Eno (yes, that one) and his development partner Peter Chilvers at Trafo House, Westergasfabriek.

This installation unlocks the incredible creative power of Microsoft HoloLens, taking Eno and Chilvers’ popular app, also called Bloom, out of 2D and into mixed reality. Working closely with Eno, Chilvers, and the HoloLens team at Microsoft, we were able to bring this generative music and art piece to life — for five days only. After getting fitted for a HoloLens, guests at the installation can use simple gestures to create beautiful and engaging music and art in the air around them.

It’s the first foray into mixed reality both for Eno and for our Music x Tech program. As for what he hopes guests take away from Bloom: Open Space, Eno says, “I would like it if people come away from one of my installations wanting to slow down and take more time… It’s a question of somehow getting people to get into a different gear, to enjoy the pleasure of a slower rate of stimulus, to strike a new relationship with a piece of technology.”

Go behind the scenes of this mixed reality generative music experience in the video above, and check out photos of the installation below. If you’re in Amsterdam, grab a ticket and join us at Bloom: Open Space daily through February 25th.

We were thrilled to work with rising star Alison Wonderland for the latest installment in the Microsoft Music x Technology program. We collaborated with the LA-based dance DJ (incidentally, the first female DJ to headline the main stage at EDC Las Vegas) and creative technologists to produce new, jaw-dropping visuals — all powered by a compact Surface-based tour kit that can adapt to any stage size.

Inspired by spiritual iconography and elements of high fantasy, her new visuals are totally dynamic, meaning that she and her VJ can control them in real time, on stage. From stained-glass reveries to fiery hellscapes, the visuals move and change with Alison and her music, leading to an even more thrilling and immersive show for attendees.

Watch the video to learn more about Alison Wonderland’s creative inspiration points, and the energy she pours into all her shows. Catch her new visuals in action starting on August 5 in Chicago, and throughout international tour dates this summer into fall.

For the latest Music x Technology project, we worked with Microsoft and Washed Out on their collaboration around Washed Out’s new album, Mister Mellow. The album is his first fully immersive multimedia experience. Every track is accompanied by an original music video, created by 11 different video artists and utilizing several forms of animation, from Claymation and stop-motion, to hand-drawn cartoons.

To take his bold vision even further, we collaborated to produce a dynamic live show, allowing fans to experience in person his “impressionistic view of the world.” The creative team behind the collab turned to Microsoft technology to translate the rich, detailed patchwork of Mister Mellow’s music and visuals into an equally powerful live experience. Advanced live integrations mimic the wide range of artistic styles seen and heard on the album.

Each component of the live show has been designed as an extension of a song and its music video, creating a vivid, sometimes absurd world for fans to explore during his tour. Thanks to the robust output and compact size of the Kinect-powered system, Washed Out will be able to share the experience with fans around the world.

For the latest Listen produced event for NYC eyewear institution MOSCOT, the super talented Emily King performed for an enthusiastic crowd at the MOSCOT Gallery & Music Space for an amazing MOSCOT Music event. She performed songs from her new album, Switch! With hits like “Already There”, “Distance” and “BIYIMM”, the audience couldn’t get enough and ended the night with an encore chant, to which Emily happily obliged.

As part of our ongoing work for Skype, we’re helping the brand connect fans and artists through The Ones to Watch with Skype Tour. For the latest episodes, Skype checks in with MKTO, the latest pop band heating up the charts. Tony Oller and Malcolm Kelley, both former stars of Nickelodeon’s hit show Gigantic, are no strangers to the spotlight. But as part of the Ones to Watch with Skype tour, the boys are experiencing their first time on the road as a headlining band. Skype caught up with MKTO in sunny Orlando to let the band’s biggest fans get closer to the boys they love. In the videos below they answer questions about their biggest inspirations, their days on set, and how to rise above the haters. There are smiles, tears of joy, backstage hangs, and you can watch it all below.

For the latest episode of Ones to Watch, Skype got to catch up with Turnpike Troubadours in Madison, Wisconsin. As a self-proclaimed ‘red dirt’ band from Oklahoma, Turnpike Troubadours are all about staying close to their roots. But it isn’t always easy to stay connected with the ones you love while you’re on the road for months on end. So Skype sat down with the boys to learn more about their beginnings and meet some of the people that helped pave their road to success. Watch below as Turnpike Troubadours use Skype to have a group video chat with their booking agent, Jon, and friends Tim and Jason.

And let’s not forget about the fans! Perhaps just as important as those early influencers in a band’s career, the fans are what make it all happen. And no one knows that better than Turnpike Troubadours. In their second Ones to Watch episode, the band connects with some of their biggest fans over Skype video calls. Below you’ll see them answer questions about their album covers, song-writing process, and more . Check it out!

There are many reasons to love New York in the summer, but being able to see these awesome shows might be the best. Below you’ll find a list of what we highly recommend you don’t miss and a Spotify playlist to get you excited. Summer is finally here.

At this weekend’s Sasquatch! music festival, we’re constructing an interactive space that combines original music, mind-bending projections, and uses people as the content. The Skype Music Room allows festival goers to create music in real time using Skype Video Messages as beats through our Digital Sound Interface, easy enough for anyone to use. Check out the video above for our demonstration with Sydney-based indie rock band, Cloud Control. The Skype Music Room lets you be part of the Sasquatch experience in a unique way—whether you’re at the festival, or checking it out from home. All you need to do to become part of it is send a video message (hopefully a fun, friendly one) to Skype_Sasquatch or click here.

Your video can then be turned into music and projected onto the walls of the Skype Music Room for everyone to enjoy.